Margie Duty

Margie Annette Hawkins Duty (August 28, 1922 – April 23, 2001)[1] was an African American law enforcement officer. She was first black woman to serve on the police force in Houston.

Biography

Duty was born in Jennings, Louisiana.[1] Duty married Nathaniel Duty, who later joined the military, in Shreveport in December 1945.[1] Nathaniel was stationed at Ellington Air Force Base and the couple moved to Houston.[1] Prior to joining the police force, Duty worked at the Houston Housing Authority.[2]

Duty started working as a police trainee in Houston in July 1953.[3] Duty was not able to attend the police academy in Houston.[4] When she joined, there had already been three black male officers, making her the fourth African American on the force.[5] She was assigned to the Juvenile Division, where there were fewer instances of prejudice than in other departments on the force.[6][7] However, Juvenile did have two different seniority lists: one for white officers and one for black officers.[7] There were also separate bathrooms and water fountains for black and white officers.[5] Duty stayed in the Juvenile division as a plainclothes officer for twenty-three years.[7] She later worked for eleven years in the jail.[7]

Duty retired from the police department in 1986.[7] She died on April 23, 2001 and was buried in Houston National Cemetery.[1]

References

Citations
  1. Duncan, Robert J. (13 June 2013). "Duty, Margie Annette Hawkins". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  2. "Houston (Tex.) Police Force Gets First Woman Officer". Jet. 4 (12): 8. 30 July 1953.
  3. "Woman Joins Police". Lubbock Evening Journal. 1953-07-15. p. 1. Retrieved 2017-11-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Jones, Regina (August 1991). "Women in Law Enforcement". Crisis. 98 (7): 26.
  5. "Black Policewoman Quits". The Galveston Daily News. AP. 1986-09-01. p. 9. Retrieved 2017-11-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Roth & Kennedy 2012, p. 244.
  7. Roth & Kennedy 2012, p. 245.

Sources
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